AUFic: What Is The End?
by ChiptuneImpulse
Summary: Ch 5: Minato finds what he is looking for. Some insight into his past as well as starting two more social links besides Junpei's.
1. Awakening

I want to give Minato a different personality from what we all know.

Bonus Info: Ikutsuki loves the film Frozen.

* * *

On Iwatodai Island, Minato Arisato had long been used to the pale green moon revealing onyx coffins that were once people. Wearing his black school uniform, he thought that he had been dressed ready to go to a funeral.

Raining blood did not phase him either. What did however was the fact that electronics slowly shut down during this time. He had made sure to charge his MP3 this time and was saddened by the phenomenon of his one defense against the quiet night leave him. Left with the silence of the streets he hurried on his way to the dorm while rolling his bags of clothes.

His thoughts came rushing to him like a train. Not wanting to focus on what lie ahead, he recalled taking a train from the countryside to his new school. He had no prior knowledge of enrolling, nor did his aunt or uncle but they were all surprised when the beige wearing man appeared one day at their door step. He introduced himself as Mr. Ikutsuki, chairman of the board of education and sold them all on the prestigious school. He said that he could stay for free but had to stay in the dorm for the first year. It sounded too good to be true but the man told them puns and sang popular songs with parody lyrics which made them agree to send Minato get him to stop.

Sighing softly, he had rounded the corner when he noticed that there was a women in blue with short silver hair. She seemed to be longingly looking at the moon from his view.

Seeing her move her face towards him, he dived towards the side of a stoop and forgot his bags were there. He peaked out to see the women was still there but didn't turn. He slowly tip-toed and tried to get his stuff.

Looking towards her location, she had vanished.

Slowly he looked across the street to find a park that was empty and looked behind him to just see a wall to a building before stepping out towards his bags. He had nearly screamed when he came face to face with the women's smiling face.

"I am Elizabeth." She said with a curtsy and _grasping a shining card?_

Minato gulped and inspected her closely. She didn't wear the school uniform nor colors. The smile she wore was one of sincere excitement, it made him nervous as her golden eyes bore into his gray ones. She was clutching a book the size of a bible but it had a lock on it.

_A cosplayer at this time of the night? _

Before he could open his mouth, she had produced a sheet of paper from her pocket and on it was the word contract followed by one sentence: _"I account for my own actions and consequences."_

Minato raised an eyebrow and promptly tried to side step the strange women before she produced a quill from her hat and shoved the contract closer to his face. Fearing that his organs may get taken he slowly reached out to the quill and sighed as he signed on the dotted line.

He pointed towards the dorm and Elizabeth held out both her arms in a swaying motion towards the building and bowed. Minato walked up to the door, turned the bronze knob and took a quick glance back. Elizabeth had vanished.

* * *

Minato knew that entering a dorm at night, especially in such a suspicious hour when the lights were off would label him a burglar or worse. He turned the knob and opened the door after a quick glance to see Elizabeth gone.

What he had not expected was end barrel of a silver gun. Filled with a cold sweat, he swore he hear a voice in his mind.

_Do not be afraid._

He didn't have a the time to process the words before the person, a girl in pink, held the gun at her head instead. Confused, he held up his hands with a shaking motion and head nod; as the girl looked at him with a pained look akin to a fearful cornered animal.

Closing her eyes, she put her finger on the trigger.

"**WAIT."**

Minato's mouth had opened but the voice had not been his. Instead if came from the stairway. The lights turned on and there he saw two beautiful robust girls. One a brunette, wearing a pink uniform. _Probably the school color for girls. _

_He's our new house mate._ The red head informed her while approaching the two. She wore a white fluffy robe. Unlike the other girl who was normal aside from the gun, this girl exuberated an aura of classiness.

The girl in pink lowered the gun and sighed.

She turned to Minato and apologized, "_Yukari Takeba."_

_S__ame year and knowing the cliches of manga and anime, probably the same class._

The red head introduced herself after.

_Mitsuru Korijo, a year older than us. Probably a lonely rich kid. Wait why is a rich kid living in a dorm as average as this? Was she staying for free?_

He looked around to see that the place might have been a hotel in the past. There was a time stamp journal, some potted plants, the middle of the room looked like a waiting room and there were some cards and others games on a distant table near the stairs. He also saw a retro dial phone.

Yukari motioned to him to follow her. Minato grabbed his things from the still open doorway before closing it and followed.

There was a tense silence as they climbed the stairs. Only the sound of Minato's bags hitting the steps sounded.

They both said something at once but Minato deferred to let her speak first.

"I apologize for scaring you. I thought you would be a-"

"Thief?"

"Rapist." She responded instantly with a flat tone.

"...Oh."

They continued upon a second flight of stairs. The floor was colored a mix of pink, yellow and orange. They went up another set of stairs.

"Who is the women in blue outside?"

Yukari looked at him in a panic.

"Who?"

"This women she had me sign-"

"I know things are weird and you might have experienced these things before but for now you should rest."

Minato nodded in agreement and was allowed to pick a room on the blue, green and white floor.

He opened a door to find a silver haired teen in his heart boxers. Yukari looked at through the door and took a picture on her phone.

_Blackmail,_ She explained. "This is Akihiko Sanada. He's also a year older than us."

Minato nodded slowly. _The jock type. Hope he's friendly._

Yukari slowly shut the door as Minato picked another room. This one was covered in red and some stuff was in it already.

Minato sighed and at last found a light blue and brown room where he deposited his stuff and fell on the bed with his butt sticking up in the air. Yukari closed the door as he started to snore.

* * *

Several hours later...

Minato had at last gotten to school, he had been stared at and he had not been sure why. When he asked Yukari she wasn't sure either. It wasn't until a boy in a cap approached him in class had told him that he was walking and talking with one the most popular girls in school.

Minato shrugged, "I stay in the same dorm as-" His mouth was silenced and an eager smile lit up on the boy's face.

Minato bit his hand.

"Ow." Junpei said holding his hand. He grit his teeth to see the bite mark.

Minato looked bored giving a _what_ look.

"I like rumors as much as the next guy but if this gets out, you might be targeted among the jealous guys. I think its best if you stick with me and-"

Junpei's ear was yanked by Yukari. "What lies are you telling him?"

"Noth-ing, I'm being nice! I swear!" He sang, like a child about to be grounded.

Yukari gave a glare to Minato.

"He was being nice but pinch his ears a bit harder for me." He said adjusting his bangs.

The day slowly passed after introducing himself to his classmates.

* * *

That night.

**"Come with me if you want to live!"** Yukari exclaimed bursting through Minato's bedroom door.

Minato had been wearing a onesie of Jack Frost and had some drool coming out of his mouth. One of his eyes was partially closed and the other adjusting to the intruder of his sleep.

She grabbed Minato's left hand and placed a short sword within.

She grabbed his hand and started to run with him upstairs.

Minato didn't process what was going on, he still thought he was dreaming but ran to match her pace.

He heard nothing but Yukari's frantic breathe as she lead him upward to the roof top.

She began to talk with Mitsuru..._without her phone?_

Yup, must be dreaming.

She had said something mid-sentence before the sound of glass broke from the end of the hall they came from. It seemed to have come from an empty dorm room.

A second glass broke as the floor began to shake. Yukari slowly started climbing the stairs as the frequency of the glass got closer and closer.

"COME ON." She screamed as she shoved the door to the roof open.

She leaned against the wall nearest the door; catching her breathe. Minato was on guard with the sword, taking a kendo. The roof was slowly rumbling and Minato could feel his knees slowly buckle.

He was sweating now. It was that weird time he was used to but this was...different.

He had never experienced an earthquake or was chased but his questions were answered from the corner of his eyes a black hand appeared and grabbed on to the edge of the roof. He had forgotten Yukari was there but heard her say: _Those monsters are shadows. There's one of two ways to fight them."_ She told him slowly put the gun to her head.

Minato looked slightly unnerved as the black blob with a mask saw them. It stopped momentarily, as though if it was _sentient_. Minato blinked then saw it "running."

Yukari was about to pull the trigger but the Shadow had used _magic to knock the gun skyward. _Yukari was thrown aside but Minato who had been keeping his eye on the gun the whole time instinctively caught it.

The shadow was nearing Yukari who had closed her eyes on instinct.

She opened them a second later to see Minato put the gun to his head with ease despite his shaking hand.

Minato smiled.

Yukari was watching in horror.

_Per_

The shadow switched its sights towards Minato.

_So_

Yukari had used a wall to help herself get up. She was slightly shaking from being hit. What she heard next, made her jerk her vision from the blood on the ground to the boy in front of her.

**_Na!_**

Pulling the trigger, Minato heard a voice call to him, his senses had registered nothing else. A flurry of wind had surrounded him. The shadow in front of him shielded it's mask and threw one of it's blades at him.

A humanoid in sepia white emerged above the boy's head, catching the blade sideways and crushing it in two.

_**THOU ART THY. **_

_**THY**_

_**ART**_

_** THOU**_

_**I AM ORPHEOUS. **_

_**MASTER OF STRINGS.**_ He bellowed as he stood in front of Minato.

What had occurred next had baffled Yukari.

Minato had stabbed Orpheous in the head with the short sword causing another Persona to emerge. Orpheous and Minato screamed in unison as the second one emerged the same way the shadow in front of them did.

A black hand emerged first, then Orpheous broke into pieces as something came out of it's head.

A scream of rage came from Minato and the new being which had the face of a white mask, a body that seemed to be wearing a cloak and coffins for wings. He hovered in front of Minato and lunged towards the shadow.

The being tore into the shadow in front of him and a mass of black was sent flying in all directions but behind it, protecting the slightly slumped Minato. The blades the shadow held dropped to the floor. One hand which landed- in front of Yukari- squirmed erratically.

She had been sweating profusely and could not find the courage to open the door and escape and watched in terror as the being in front of her crushed the hand and let out another cry.

Minato was an after-thought at the moment until she looked to see him charge at two shadows which seemingly appeared from nowhere. He ran towards the shadows and shot himself in the head. Two lightning bolts vaporized the shadows in an instant.

Minato let out one last cry before darkness filled his vision.

* * *

Minato is able to kick ass in a onesie.


	2. The Wager

So for this chapter you will need Kendo knowledge but not for the reasons you think:

_The shinai has 3 sections. The outer part which consists of the tip is used to score a point against an enemy._

_You MUST shout where you strike, as well as do it with a graceful form._

_So Migi (right) Do (body) means the right side of the stomach area. Hidari (Left) Men (Head) is the left side of the head._

_Each competitor wears a streamer on their back which is a different color to indicate who gets points._

_Since the ref is reffing a normal match he will not follow the proper procedure for calling a strike to risk injury of being hit but will rather yell whether the point is valid or not._

_After a point is scored those in the ring MUST resume their position as they start the next round. This can be canceled however should someone score two points._

_Finally should the sword be dropped or the opponent is forced out of the ring TWICE a point is scored._

* * *

Minato slowly opened his eyes, _what occurred on the roof? Was it real? _He had never experienced such_ lucid clarity_ before_. His body acted on impulse and he knew what to do instinctively._

Instead of a sea green concrete roof, he saw a _purple floor?_

Wasn't the roof green? Wait. That was just the dark hour moon. He slowly recalled being up there with someone...

That's right. Where was _Yukari?_ She should have been there, so where was he? Were they separated?

_"Welcome to the Velvet room. I am Igor."_

A soothing voice called out to him, making him raise his head slowly from the darkness of his mind, "Awakening to your inner power you fell unconscious. No worries here however, the shadows can not reach you in this realm. Just. Relax..._Man_.'" The man with the unhinged smile told him.

Minato was nervous, it wasn't everyday you woke up in front of an old man who seemed to be forcing a smile.

To his left he saw the girl in blue! She raised an her right hand like a cat, grinned and waved. In her other arm, a book.

Minato blinked.

Looking around the room was a hue of dark blue transitioning into purple. Opposite of Elizabeth was a blue piano. A table in front of the man with a deck of cards neatly stacked on top.

"That power, is what we call a Persona."

Elizabeth held up the book and patted the cover.

"It is a facet of your personality and reacts to external stimuli. Think of it as a mask-"

Elizabeth opened the book and a hologram of Orpheus appeared floating, playing the harp.

Minato had remembered that creature which he? Tore to shreds.

"You power is still weak."

"If you develop bonds with others, you grow stronger. Think of it as a social link. The more at ease you feel and the more sociable you become, you awaken a power which becomes more natural," Igor paused for 3 seconds, "You will find out in due time." He said as though his voice was dripping with honey.

Minato blinked again.

"Now, time does not affect you here but in your world you've been asleep for a week." Elizabeth said with a grin.

"WHAT."

"Relax. Man." Igor said coolly.

* * *

Minato had arisen suddenly and scared Yukari. He could feel sweat all over his body and could hear his heart beating. Looking around the white and gray room, he found out he was in a hospital. It was a small room, and he had noticed that he had food next to him, an apple, some water and carrots.

"Finally, you're awake! You've been out for a week!" She said with a small grin.

Minato pursed his lips and looked at her with a horrified expression. He looked down at his lap and realized he was in a gown.

"Don't worry Mitsuru is covering your stay here."

He sighed and slowly laid back down.

"Alright to give you an explanation of your power-"

"It's a Persona. I recalled hearing a voice in my head before I pulled the trigger, but after I felt pure instinct take over." He said wiping his forehead.

"Right. I'm sorry I didn't explain it before." She said turning around looking at the window.

"...My dad, he died working for the Korijo Group but I've found nothing about the incident."

Minato looked at her backside and saw her turn around.

"That's why I am here." She said cheerfully.

She looked at him with this soft vulnerable expression on her face.

_Crap puppy eyes. A weakness._

"I read your file some time after you passed out. That's why I'm sharing what happened to my dad."

Minato looked down at his lap. He had not remembered anything about the night of his parent's death aside from the screech of brakes. Everything else had been a blur.

"If I were braver-" She put a hand to her chest, "I could have helped you last week."

Minato closed his eyes.

"Don't worry about it. Man." He tried to copy Igor's smooth voice.

Yukari looked surprised but then laughed.

Minato smiled.

"Sorry about your onesies but we had to take them off, you were sweating in them and it was dirty...At least our new house mate won't make fun of you for wearing it!"

Someone else entered the room and a sense of uncertainty filled Minato, "Yo!" Junpei said with a grin.

Minato looked surprised.

"You gonna eat that?" Junpei pointed to the apple at his side.

Minato could not give Junpei an answer, he fainted.

* * *

School had been a buzz about the transfer student. Falling sickly after arriving? He ignored the rumors and made it to history with time to spare. Although he heard something about a disease but he always found rumors to be stupid.

"That concludes the stone age. I really wish we didn't have to study rocks, there's nothing interesting about them. If anything we should study the Sengoku era." The teacher with a samurai helmet lamented.

"Sir, rocks have useful properties such as being able to be burned can be use for showers. If a stone has some crystal on it, it can be used to view color through a spectrum. In addition, they can be used as a weak conductor of electricity in the liquid state." Minato said hand raised.

Mr. Ono raised an eyebrow and the other students except Junpei were impressed.

Minato who still had his hand up, looked down briefly then locked eyes with his teacher.

"Samurai are boring."

Mr. Ono jerked backed as there were mixed reactions of shock, amusement and confusion among the students.

Mr. Ono could feel the pressure from the students and smiled.

"I would like to wager a bet with you Mr. Arisato." He said with a twitch happening to his left eye.

He nodded slowly.

"If I can best you in a match of kendo, you shall admit that not only Samurai are exciting but you shall have detention for disrupting the class."

"If I win."

Minato tried his best to look threatening and paused for dramatic affect.

"I get to sleep in class when I feel like it." He said with a smile.

"_If_." Mr. Ono frowned but agreed to it.

A harmonized Oooooh resounded in the room but only Yukari was bewildered, "You can't challenge a teacher on your first day back!"

Minato shrugged.

Mitsuru had marched across the school yard towards the gym, with the rest of the student council in tow. She had heard rumors all afternoon and wanted to confront them directly. Seeing a sea of student swarm the gym with camera phones had been the least of her worries.

She pushed past with a cold glare parted the students like waves. Getting to the interior of the brown wooden floored basketball court, she found Minato, in the middle, with kendo armor on. His opponent was a teacher as the rumors had confirmed. She stood on the line dividing the court.

Akihiko who had also pushed past the sea of students and touched Mitsuru's shoulder.

He said with a whisper, "Let's see what he can do without his power."

Mitsuru nodded. She didn't like the idea of it, but she was curious.

One of the student council members had stood next to Mitsuru. He was wearing all black and had an golden armband on his left arm. His hair was slicked back and he frowned at what was going on.

"Should we not stop this?"

"I know Hitedoshi but as the Student Council President, he needs to show respect to authority. If the teacher can best him, _he will be put in his place_." She said folding her arms, one leg out, looking slightly annoyed.

A boy with short messy brown hair, who Mr. Ono addressed as Kenji, had tied a white band to Mr. Ono's back. Compared to the tradional gear Minato had worn, which was plated guards on the body, wrist and head and face, Mr. Ono wore mostly red and black- on the stomach area- ancient samurai armor. Kenji knocked on it and it had been real metal. He adjusted the face guard on the teacher, while making a fashion statement. "_So 1590s._"

"So you know the rules of Kendo?" Junpei asked tightening a red band to Minato's back.

Blowing his bangs away from his eye, which was slightly annoying him he answered, "You tell **HEAD** right?"

* * *

Junpei smiled nervously.

The chatter in the gym was abuzz speaking about both the match and of Mitsuru being there but not punishing anyone. It died down however when A tall, dark skinned boy held up his hands and took a deep breathe.

Both were in their armor and a boy named Kaz was in the middle as the referee.

"First to three points win, only hitting of the head, the wrist, the sides of the body. No throat strikes! Both must call out where they strike and I shall judge if it counts or not! Oh and don't forget, you must hit with the outer third of the shinai, _if you are to hit with any inner part, it doesn't count!_" He shouted.

Minato and Mr. Ono bowed and took their stances; their right leg out and their left foot facing 45 degrees to the left. The third outer of the shinai touching. Kaz limped out of the arena and let them go ahead.

Both didn't move as the cheering for sides took place.

There was an intent glare that Mr. Ono gave to the apathetic Minato who was slowly reading Mr. Ono's body language. The student smirked, causing Mr. Ono to slowly move towards him one foot at a time.

Minato had not moved from his spot as Mr. Ono struck overhead. Minato moved back, dodging the strike. Mr. Ono reeled back but Minato was faster and aimed for the side of body.

Mr. Ono looked shock as the shinai he held was impulsively made a diagonal defensive stance with the tip pointing slightly upward. **"RIGHT. BODY." **Minato screamed, guiding his body to drop slightly, then raised the sword to duck under Mr. Ono's arm and connect with the left side of the body.

Kaz raised a red flag; awarding Minato a point.

He circled the ring, making sure they both had reset their stances. Seeing the tips touch he left the ring.

Using his speed Mr. Ono moved forward.

Minato had frozen up. The way he moved had reminded him of the shadow on the roof. Mr. Ono struck him on the head then the wrist ensuring his first two points.

Mitsuru had noticed and squinted. She looked slightly disappointed.

Resetting their positions, Mr. Ono was surprised by Minato moving towards him but not swinging. Instinctively he moved back but before he could figure out what was going on, he had been pushed out of the ring.

Kaz raised a flag, catching Mr. Ono's attention, "A warning Mr. Ono, step out of the ring again and Arisato here gets a point."

Mr. Ono looked at Arisato and saw him smirking under the armor.

Starting the next round, Mr. Ono tightened his grip and came swinging at Minato. Minato pushed back his blade with his own. Both held their ground, pushing with the middle of their blades. There was some slight shaking but neither man would budge.

Minato pulled back and just as swiftly struck, **"HEAD"** and hit the teacher on the head. "**RIGHT WRIST**." Mr. Ono tried to move his wrist, but moved to the wrong side causing the blade to connect.

Kaz raised a flag indicating Minato's third point while the crowd cheered for the underdog. There was a roar of applause as Kaz limped over and congratulated Minato.

Mr. Ono gripped the bamboo sword tightly slightly disappointed in himself and looked downward.

Minato walked to Mr. Ono and bowed.

"Samurais aren't boring, but you might want to consider more contemporary armor." Minato said patting what he was wearing.

Mr. Ono was shocked but bowed as well with a smile.

The mood was killed with Mitsru's marching towards the combatants.

* * *

The only ones left in the gym at this point were the student council, Mr. Ono and Minato.

"Arisato, I do not like that you took on this challenge and you Mr. Ono." Minato had seen daggers in her eyes, there was no need for her to point. Mr. Ono heard the venom and hiss in her voice and gulped.

"I expect better from you."

"Mitsuru, I interrupted the class." Minato informed her.

"You don't get it. Your act here may cause insubordination among your other class mates."

"Why not stop the match? Why just watch."

She explained herself.

"I will take full punishment for this event." Mr. Ono said solemnly.

"No, you both will. Arisato, you already missed a week of school due to being sick, so you shall have to clean the entire school. Mr. Ono, you will be deducted one month bonus pay."

Both boys nodded in agreement without Mitsuru seeing.

She marched outside, the others following. The boy in black by Mitsuru's side gave a glare to both of them.

* * *

Both stood in long silence even after hearing them walk off.

"I have samurai ancestors you know." He said slowly.

"You made them proud." Minato said with a slight smile, taking off his face guard.

* * *

Minato had started his cleaning routine around the school. No one gave him grief or ribbed him about it. He was even helped by those impressed with his bravery in fighting "_The Demon, Ono._" He chuckled at that and wiped boards down, swept and mopped floors, wiped tables and washed windows.

He had not found himself tired because he would sleep on the train ride home. Getting home he had homework to do and would study. He even snuck in some samurai sword moves to keep studying light.


	3. Discord

AN: I am skipping some in game cut-scenes such as Junpei's intro.

I also apologize for this chapter being late; I've been busy writing for other projects as of late.

I might skip Minato being in clubs...**Convince me otherwise.**

* * *

Mitsuru had taken time out of her day to talk to the newest members of the team at school. It caused some commotion but nothing substantial.

Confused, they pondered all day what she could have meant. They were anxious or eager that she had to come in person during school hours to tell them.

The trio decided to go home together that day.

* * *

Arriving at the dorm, he saw everyone else in the waiting area.

The guy who long wavy hair who came to his house.

Akihiko.

Mitsuru.

They were on the couch. Minato and his classmates took the individual chairs.

"Alright, let's begin please." The chairman declared.

Everyone turned to him.

"Prior to the rest of you joining, we only had Mitsuru and Akihiko as persona users and myself as mission control."

Minato raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"There is also the person that the red room next to Akihiko's room belongs to right?" Minato asked, looking bored and keeping his hand up.

Akihiko winced and Mitsuru folded her arms tightly.

"...There was, but he quit." Akihiko said, looking somewhat saddened.

"Tonight we are going to explore Tartarus." Mitsuru said before the thought could linger.

"I asked this yesterday but for Minato's sake, whats Tartarus?" Junpei asked looking impressed with himself.

"Oh yeah...you haven't seen it. Its a place that only appears during the dark hour." Yukari informed him.

"Think of it as the Shadow's nest." Akiihiko said with an eager grin.

Minato stared intently at Akihiko and frowned.

"Our second point of order." The chairman said dramatically.

"Appointing. A. Leader." He punctuated.

Junpei's eyes shone, "Right here."

Minato sighed, "You lack experience."

Junpei glared back, "You have some?"

Minato got up and asked Mitsuru for her evoker. She complied and he put it to his head, shocking Junpei.

"He can summon two personas. Despite Mitsuru and I fighting the shadows for at least 2 years, we only have one each." Akihiko said with a slight edge in his voice.

Junpei looked in disbelief but tried his best to shrug it off. His look of surprise and envy was all that Mitsuru could read.

"Why him though? Why not Mitsuru?"

"I will be on mission control, we need a field leader and I leave it to him."

There was a definite silence.

"Sweet." Minato said, looking bored.

* * *

With the exception of Mitsuru, who rode on her motorbike, the others walked the empty streets.

"So her bike is special?"

"Yeah, its made of-"

"You know..." Junpei started as he looked at the blood pool and a small coffin in the middle of it.

"There's one benefit to all this. If you do have a persona, there's a chance to fight back fairly against an intruder."

Akihiko looked really uncomfortable at this suggestion. The others just kept walking, slightly unnerved by the Dark Hour.

* * *

After walking for 8 minutes they had reached the school, where Mitsuru was waiting. In front of the gate, they waited as Akihiko had looked at a watch of his and counted down.

Minato and Junpei had seen it transform. The school seemed to have shifted, as though it were a mirage. It then started to shake erratically. It turned into a swirling spiral with a green glow before morphing into a tower with a spiral stair case. It loomed into the skies, making the group unable to see the rooftop.

Junpei's eyes were quite wide when he said, "I always knew school was evil."

* * *

Inside the tower, Mitsuru had gotten off her bike and greeted the others formally.

Akihiko was the last to enter and look upward.

"Finally. I've been waiting for this," he told himself.

Yukari and Junpei commentated that it looked like a castle or a ballroom.

Minato on the other hand was not as distracted.

"As leader, I can do as I please right?" He raised his hand, while asking.

Mitsuru was hesitant to agree but nodded slowly.

"We're taking Akihiko in." He said arms folded.

Mitsuru was taken back, in shock.

"He has an injured arm!" She said alarmed.

"Guys like him, are like wild animals. Even if you cage him, it will do nothing to stop him. If anything, he can summon lightning."

Mitsuru bit her lip. A tense worry being visible on her face.

Minato stared with cold indifference.

"This is on you." She said pushing her index fingers into his chest, after a minute of silence.

He nodded.

* * *

Mitsuru told the others of Minato's decision while he looked around.

He looked around and was curious why no one was mentioning the glowing door.

He walked towards it and pushed it open. A light englufed his vision and he had to shield his eyes.

He slowly saw an image of the Velvet room come into view, he felt the room rising under his feet. The rest of the room manifested in front of him, as though the two waiting for him had always been there.

"Welcome back; dear guest." Igor greeted.

Minato stood in front of the chair but didn't sit down.

"What is this...room exactly?" He said looking around.

"A manifestation of both you consciousness and unconsciousness, a place to access your personas, social links and to relax in."

_"So this room is for organization."_

"In battle, you will find cards that shadows drop. Those cards are personas which you can use in battle."

"How do social links work?" He asked hastily.

"You have already accessed one of them by joining the team. With the choices you make, your bonds will either break or grow stronger."

"If you guys know whats go on, why not do something about it?" Minato asked.

"We are bound by our own contract with our master to no interfere with the human world." Elizabeth said.

"_Someone_ _above even you two_..." He said slowly, a hand pushing hair out of his vision.

Igor waved his hand.

Minato had been surprised, he was back in the lobby of Tartarus, staring at the swirling checkerboard floor.

Yukari had poked his shoulder, with mild concern.

"We're ready to go."

* * *

They ascended the steps and saw infinite darkness awaiting them. The only discernible thing lay the outstretched tiled floor.

"There are different types of shadows that we have observed." Akihiko informed the others while walking. He stopped at a hallway and looked around the corner. He motioned with his good arm for the others to follow.

They, Junpei and Minato stopped when they heard static.

"This is Mitsuru, come in." Minato could feel the voice echo in his head. He was not sure if Mitsuru was psychic or a magician but the clarity of her voice was soothing in the darkness.

"Hey Mitsuru, Akihiko here, I'm giving them the low down on shadows." He said aloud.

"Acknowledged." The static abruptly ended.

They began walking again.

"Some have weaknesses. Some can only be hurt with physical attacks from our swords, bows or fists. Some others can be hurt with just magic. Despite their differences, always pay attention to the location of the mask; that is their weakness."

Feeling a chill, Minato slowly looked down to find that a mask was staring at him, and ichor was surrounding his leg.

"Dammit, must have just been waiting to spawn under you." Akihiko growled while taking the gun of his holster.

Minato began to shake his leg, sweat forming on his face.

"CALM DOWN AND AIM FOR THE MASK." Akihiko told him.

Yukari put the evoker to her head prompting Junpei to do the same.

Minato saw it move around like water and sliced at where he thought the mask would be. He guessed correctly and saw it dissolved slowly loosening its grip on his leg.

"Unnerving when they get close right?" Akihiko taunted.

Minato just nodded sweating a little bit.

Yukari and Junpei both sighed.

* * *

They continued walking straight before turning right.

Three shadows emerged and their first battle was an eye opener; in that cramped hall way.

Junpei wielded his sword like a baseball bat.

Yukari was afraid to user her Persona and almost hit the others with her arrows a few times.

Akihiko kept fidgeting in place, as though he were going to run up to the shadow and punch the blobs on instinct- but remembered that he was just there to summon.

Minato was the only one to really be on focus but even then, whenever he summoned Orpheus, he felt that rush, that his mind became empty and the only thing to pull him back to reality had been a fireball that was burning a shadow or a yell from one of his team mates.

It wasn't until the fourth battle that he had noticed something was off about the others; Junpei was struggling to move with his sword in one hand and Akihiko was walking slower than usual.

"You alright?" Minato asked.

"Summoning your persona takes courage. To use it in battle however drains you mentally. We need to leave now." He ordered.

"How do we get-"

Rounding a corner they saw some stairs and a glowing device. On cue, Mitsuru's voice came into their minds.

"Mitsuru here. If you take this glowing lift, it brings you back the lobby Tartarus, I see one in front of me so they should connect."

"She can see us as well?" Junpei asked, slowly buttoning his shirt, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Only during the dark hour; if she can concentrate and if we're nearby." Yukari said.

They stood in front of the lift.

"Grab on."

The group touched the glowing elevator and returned to the lobby.

Seeing Mitsuru had been a relief. She had used her own persona to help refresh the others mentally and accessed their mental conditions. She had been concerned with Akihiko most of all and asked him basic questions such as if he was fine or not.

Minato watched intently as they argued like a married couple and saw that Junpei was trying to comfort Yukari.

"Yo...I don't know if you noticed but I saw that you didn't summon your persona much?" He asked trying to be coy.

"...Uh yeah. After what I saw on the roof-top that night, I thought that it was possible that if we could use other personas that our initial one may get hurt and that it would well...hurt."

Junpei looked slightly confused but saw her eyes focus Minato while she talked. He had now been given a brief lecture by Mitsuru about not acting as a reckless leader.

"What the hell happened?" He asked himself, taking off his cap to rub at his forehead.

* * *

**Bonus for making you guys wait for this chapter.**

The next day, the others felt slightly better with sleep. The school day had been longer then the trip to Tartarus and they had just heard the bell to leave school

The girls around Akihiko had flocked between him and Minato. One girl had grabbed Minato and he looked like a ragdoll in her grip.

Junpei was waiting under a tree for the other two and noticed the group they had accumulated.

"Hey ladies." He said with a sunny smile.

Taking a quick glance at Junpei who had grinned and was putting his chest out with a straight posture, they looked apathetic.

"Who are you?" One girl sneered.


	4. Charge

I'm skipping cutscenes again!

* * *

Minato and Junpei stood in front of the police station. Despite Minato wanting to go home and sleep, Junpei had been insistent about meeting Akihiko at the station. A sense of duty or _whatever._

They entered and were given a brief summary of what Officer Kurosawa could provide for them and found it odd that he sold them swords. Akihiko said that he had other assorted items in the lost and found and to check often.

They left the station with armor and protection for the dark hour and a weapon each to use.

Minato eyed the duffle bag the officer gave them and felt the weight of the swords slightly made him sag towards one side.

"Junpei, I want to talk to you in private about something."

Junpei grinned like an idiot.

They made their way towards the park across the dorm.

* * *

They had walked towards a large tree and stayed under it's shade.

They sat there in silence as Minato let the breeze of the day pick up his hair.

"I was concerned with the way that you hold your sword."

"Are you gonna teach me to fight teachers like you?" Junpei asked with some hope in his eyes.

"...No, I'm going to take yours and order that you use a bat instead. Its lighter and allows you to swing as you please."

Minato didn't turn to face Junpei. Junpei's face contorted into dismay.

Junpei stood up and slapped a hand to his chest.

"No way! A sword is a man's way. Its like those old stories where the knight slayed dragons and saved chicks."

Minato looked annoyed.

"You lack training and given your...eager temper I think that having you with a bat is for the best for now."

Junpei looked disappointed but tried his best to hide with his hat. He pulled on the brim and held on.

Minato sighed.

"Bats are easier to use and you don't have to worry about smuggling them at least."

There was silence and the breeze had abruptly stopped.

He looked up to see that Junpei still pulled on the brim of his hat.

Minato thought he had been going crazy when he saw the world had slowly turned gray.

Junpei had been frozen in place as did the pedestrians that were walking about.

Minato had found that he could move still but jumped when a voice had echoed in his head, thou shalt _not_ have the blessing of the Magician Arcana unless thou choosest to try once more.

_Ah crap_. This is what Igor meant. Minato sighed as he rubbed his temple.

Seeing as how he could not access the Velvet room until the dark hour, he had to wait.

Things went back to normal and he told Junpei that he was heading home.

* * *

He found Mitsuru studying at the dinner table and she had greeted both boys.

"Arisato, I should have told you this back in Tartarus but you decide when we should enter the tower. Also ask to check on the status of the others. If we lack a full team, things will get dangerous."

"How is everyone?"

"Akihiko feels tired, Takeba and Iori are fine."

Minato stood blankly, with his hands in his pockets.

Mitsuru had resumed studying but knew she was awaiting a response.

"Very well...we will go in tonight with a three man team."

Minato had arrived at the tower again. Akihiko had been resting while the others went out.

He had entered the room and took a seat.

"I know why you are here, Mr. Arisato. You wish to ask about the bonds of friendship."

"Actually, I've come to ask what you're pulling." He said, deadpanned, a glare almost forming.

"I want to know why I need to manipulate people into gaining power."

"You are concerned with how it affects you. I assure you, what you do to form your bonds is," Elizabeth at this point had manifested the contract, and waved it in front of Minato's face, "entirely your choice."

"How you strengthen your bonds is entirely your choice. Should you choose to manipulate your friends is one way of interpreting your time with them."

"...My time." Minato said breathlessly.

Minato had gripped the arms of the chair he was sitting in.

_For as long as I could remember I've always been alone. Thanks to that, I've never really felt at peace anywhere. Perhaps this call to action is a way to compensate for that? If this opportunity to be close to people is true then..._

Minato stood up.

"Should you wish to talk to us, there is a way too during the day. Go to the mall and search for the door." Elizabeth informed him.

He nodded and left with a sigh.

–

Minato had been lost in thought during the expedition. He had decided to trust the others and allowed them to split up. Yukari had protested while Junpei nodded in agreement.

They had covered the first floor of Tartarus to find that nothing had changed.

Together they headed to the second floor.

"I swear this place is all the same. It looks no different from the second floor..."

"Yeah. It's like we're on a treadmill and have gone nowhere."

There had been silence after that.

* * *

They had gone on ahead

Junpei volunteered to go ahead which made Minato slightly nervous but allowed him too.

Junpei walked quietly in the halls of darkness and peaked around corners like Akihiko had. He had seen a shadow and motioned for the others to come forward.

"Junpei. I want you to be in charge of this battle." Minato whispered.

Junpei had never noticed that Minato was slightly shaking as he said this since he was facing the shadow.

Leading the charge, Junpei threw a baseball at the shadow's mask and was surprised he had hit it.

"Minato set Yukari's arrow on fire and strike that thing's mask."

His teammates were surprised but followed his order. Minato baited the shadow to come into direct contact with Yukari's alignment which she had been ordering Minato to do. He ran and slid behind the archer as she fired the arrow straight into the mask of the shadow blob.

The three teens high-fived each other.

Subsequent battles went by faster because the group knew what they were doing now.

Slowly they trudged to the elevator lift which greeted them with it's usual gold glow. Yukari had been the first to reach and left.

"Hey Minato."

"Yes Junpei?"

"The reason I was upset yesterday was because you had me switch to the bat. You see, when we are baseball practice- depending on the position- we have different responsibilities. I had realized that despite the fact that my coach knew what to do, us players didn't if we had to switch from batter to short stop or be a left field or home base player." He paused to think more as Minato pursed his lips in amazement.

"So when I got upset yesterday I didn't tell you that in baseball, there's a one in three chance of hitting the target. I realized this when I hit that shadow with the baseball."

Minato's eyes had widened.

"Also you being leader is easier on me to just play hero. I don't have to think that much if I follow orders so for now...I don't want to be the leader."

He grabbed the lift and vanished.

Minato had smiled. He felt as though he understood Junpei just a little bit better now. Completely forgetting the reason for his visit to Tartarus, he had been shocked when a voice had called out to him.

_Thou hast the permission to access Persona of the Magician Arcana._

The image of a card had manifested itself and he saw the symbol of the Magician tarot card; an infinity symbol at the top; with a pair of eyes and fire in the middle of the card; a pair of hands and the roman numeral one, at the bottom.

_One?_

_How many were there and how would he access them all?_

He had heard the sounds of chains rattling but it didn't really register to him because he was deep in thought. He touched the golden elevator and had left before a cloaked figure could meet him.


	5. Twice Shy

AN: I'm doing more skipping.

As for why Junpei was smarter than usual last chapter...I noticed when watching the cut-scenes when he joined; he was rather humble about admitting to crying and wetting himself during his first conscious experience in the Dark Hour, so I decided to play up that aspect of his personality.

* * *

Minato had scrounged the school library for a book about the arcana but found nothing.

He sighed and had turned to head to another aisle but stopped. A girl he had seen before had been watching Minato with curiosity, recalling her appearance, she had been with Mitsuru on the day of the fight.

Minato smiled and waved.

The girl returned the wave with a weak one of her own and didn't smile.

_Shy?_

Minato had looked at her figure. Her frame was small, her hair reached her shoulders and she wore a timid expression.

He took one step closer to her and asked a question aloud.

"Do you know of a bookstore that is old?"

She nodded and motioned for him to follow.

Minato had kept his distance, just in case.

The walk out of the school and to the station, had him lost in thought since she wasn't trying to engage him in discussion.

_He had thought back to the days when he was living with his uncle and aunt. Despite the fact that he had been shy and suffering from trauma, he knew now that they were trying their best to draw him out of his shy self._

He entered the correct train towards downtown.

_He had spent that time reading, mostly psychology and learning how to be prepared for situations._

_He had even asked his uncle to enroll him in some sort of self-defense courses and ended up practicing Kendo. It was difficult but he had read books to practice and that took up most of his childhood._

The girl had lightly patted his shoulders.

"We're here."

"Huh?" He had looked around to find that the train car was empty.

They had entered a somewhat cluttered bookstore where an elderly man with a sweater, a small patch of white hair on his head who was wearing glasses had greeted the two.

"Ah Chihiro-san!"

She bowed.

"This is Mr. Kitamura, he often-"

He held up a bag of peaches with a toothy grin.

"Gives peaches to customers."

She walked to the counter and took the bag graciously.

"Such a sweet heart as always. So...is this your boyfriend?"

Chihiro turned a shade redder than Mitsuru's hair and tried her best to use words but ended up making her arms move all over the place.

Minato chuckled and introduced himself.

"She was showing me where the book store was actually. I was hoping you had a book on mythology? Specifically the Arcana."

"What a kind couple you will make. Sure, let me check."

While waiting, Chihiro had hid behind the bag of peaces while an elderly women in a purple dress and blue apron came out of a door behind the counter.

"Greetings, I hope my husband hasn't been teasing you."

"Just a tiny bit," the old man said with some playfulness in his tone.

"Is this the book you're looking for?" He asked holding it out, but still facing the self.

He held up a book that had some cards on it, one was the Magician.

Minato searched for his wallet...

"Oh no. This is embarrassing." He said to himself.

"Don't worry..." The old lady started.

"Minato."

"Minato. We will old it on to you. For a price."

Minato chuckled.

"How about a story sometime?" He asked.

"Oooh, how did you know I love stories?" The old man said, climbing down the ladder with a tinkle in his eyes.

Minato looked around and smiled.

"Just a hunch."

The old man smiled and his wife wrapped the book in a plastic cover.

Things began to gray as he saw them stop.

_Thou hast the permission to access Personas of the Hierophant arcana._

His wife had finished covering the book.

"We're open all week except Sundays." She said smiling.

"I'll visit over the weekend then." He said with a bow.

"Please, there's no need to be formal. We're not the Emperors."

Minato smiled and thanked them.

He left with Chihiro in tow.

They had walked back to wait for the train.

"It would be nice to do this again." He said aloud.

"Y-you know. I-I-I'm usually shy."

He nodded.

She looked at the floor and held the peaces to her waist.

"I used to be shy as well."

"R-really?" She said surprised.

The train had arrived and stopped in front of them. They both got on to go back to school.

"I used to have my head in books but I grew out of it thanks to my hobby of kendo."

"Oh..."

"If you would like, maybe you could show me around again?" He said smiling.

"S-sure." She blushed.

The trained had stopped moving and Minato had accidentally collided into Chihiro but she didn't seem to mind since she was frozen in place.

A voice had boomed in an echo in his mind.

_Thou hast the permission to access the Justice arcana._

He hurriedly fixed himself and sat straight up.

Gray vanished from his sight, time resumed resumed and Chihiro looked a bit hurt; by wincing.

"I feel as though I got hit by a mountain." She said, holding her sides.

Minato just sat there sweating trying to keep a straight face.

* * *

He had walked the girl home, where her apartment room was and thanked her.

"You know, despite being shy you helped me."

"I-its my job as a student council member to h-help."

Minato shook his head in disagreement.

"We didn't have to walk all the way out there but for now, I owe you one."

She looked at the floor and smiled.

"Yes..._you do_."

Minato felt nervous at her slightly sadistic tone, but she ran into the dorm while saying in a hurry; _I too wish to hang out again._


End file.
